Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, including Barley and Rye.

An Important fact that you have to know about Gluten is that it is present in almost every dish or food that is consumed. This may be a pasta, bread, rice, pastries, biscuits, corn flakes in fact, most of the alcoholic drinks we consume contains gluten. Basically, gluten is in most of the food and drink that we consume every day.

I guess you didn’t expect that, right? Of course there are food and drinks that do not contain gluten. You can have gluten-free pasta, bread, rice and other food, but the cost of that food will be much higher.

Let me tell you, from personal experience, that it’s not easy to switch to gluten-free food, especially when practically for your entire life, all the food you have ever eaten has contained Gluten.

In order to manage this switch, you will have to prepare yourself mentally and you will have to change some habits, but at the end of the day, it’s not the impossible task one tends to think it is.

Nutrition and problems related with gluten

If you don’t have problems with your current nutrition, you won’t care much about changing it, which is very normal and quite understandable. I mean to say, why the on earth would someone change something if it’s not bothering them.

But nowadays more and more people are discovering that they do have an intolerance regarding certain type of foods, albeit flour, milk, eggs, gluten, etc. however there are a growing number of instances whereby people need to be very cautious before embarking on a new diet.

You can have a minor intolerance to gluten food, which in effect means that there are only ‘minor’ side effects however, the greater the disorder caused by gluten, the higher the chances of the intolerance developing into Celiac Disease.

Generally, eople suffering with the disease, completely change their eating habits in order to minimise the effects that can lead to some serious medical issues. Of course there are other gluten related disorders but the scope of this article is restricted to a general outline of Gluten intolerance.

Like most health issues, once you know what gluten is and what disorders gluten food can create, it is generally accepted that with diligence, people can go on to lead healthier lives once they learn to base their diet around gluten-free food..

Benefits of gluten-free food

– You feel like you have more energy – this is because gluten works like a ‘glue ‘ on your intestines and because it’s quite heavy, cancelling it from your menu will make you feel that you not only have more energy, but feel lighter.

– Many people lose weight – when you stop eating food containing gluten, you cut off from your menu ingredients and dishes that are your favourites, things like fast food, buiscuits, slaty snacks and candies etc. which in reality, is the hardest part of switching over to eating healthy food like vegetables, salads, fruits, fresh juices.

– It slows down aging – wheat as we know contains gluten which raises the sugar level in the blood. Sugar molecules bind on protein molecules thus forming harmful new moelcules known as advanced glycation which damages the collagen. Gluten free food eliminates the problem and allows the collagen to take care of young and smooth skin as it should.

– Alleviates menopausal difficulties – experts state that gluten increases menopausal symptoms such as headaches and hot flashes. Gluten-free food can significantly reduce those symptoms, in the best cases symptoms may even disappear.
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– Helps in maintaining your body weight – when a person starts to eat gluten-free food they consciously cut out favourite foods that can in most cases be classified as ‘junk’ food. Due to healthier eating habits, the body begins to steadily lose weight thus making the whole issue of trying to lose weight and keep it off, a whole lot easier and more tolerable.

– Healthy food becomes more significant – when we decide to diet we begin thinking about healthy food. Gluten-free food keeps our mind diligent in regards to thinking about what we should or shouldn’t be eating because as we soon discover, not every food is suitable for our body.

Gluten-free or not?

You don’t have to suffer with a medical condition to try gluten-free food and for some people, it can just be one of the steps they undertake in creating change for themselves. Discovering how your body reacts to certain foods including those that contain zero levels of Gluten is a good thing. I mean to say, why wait for an intestinal problem to present itself?

Are there any negatives to eating Gluten-free food?

Gluten-free food can be expensive

Initially, it can take a long time to work out just which products are gluten free